The Pros and Cons of Hiring Freelancers for Your Business

Small businesses live or die depending on their hiring decisions, and one of the decisions small business owners must face is whether they should hire freelancers as opposed to full-time or part-time employees. This is certainly not an easy decision, so here are some of the main pros and cons of hiring a freelancer that small business owners should know before hiring.

Pro #1: More cost-efficient

You pay freelancers for the sole purpose of getting something done. This means that none of your money is wasted on frivolous costs such as employee training or health insurance. Not only that, but you have the option to control exactly how much money you spend on each project. Freelance websites give you the handy option to set a maximum budget. If you want to spend $1000 on a company sales video, you will never have to pay more than that amount.

Pro #2: Easier to hire

People hire freelancers because it’s convenient. You create an account on a freelance website like Upwork and you post your job. Freelancers who are interested will contact you, and you pick the one you want. It’s an easy process, and something far simpler and less time consuming than having to hire full-time employees.

Pro #3: More specialized in one exact area

Freelancers tend to focus on just one or two things that they’ve gained complete mastery of over the years. If you want to hire a content marketer, then you’ll get someone who specializes in content marketing and nothing else. This is far better than having your sales associate make an attempt at content marketing because you simply can’t afford to hire another full-time employee.

Con #1: No quality assurance

No matter how hard you try to vet the freelancers you hire, sometimes they just do a terrible job. In fact, sometimes they don’t even get the job done and quit half way through. This is the super scary and risky part of hiring freelancers because you have less control over how the freelancers should get the job done.

Con #2: It takes time to find the right person

While hiring a freelancer is actually fairly quick, sometimes you need something done immediately. In situations like these, it would definitely be better to have someone on-site ready to go. Perhaps your services offer a 24-hour turnaround. You’ll be cutting it pretty close each time if you go the freelancer route. At the very least, the freelancers themselves have to rush in order to meet the strict deadline, which could obviously reduce the quality of their work.

Con #3: They provide no stability

Freelancers are often a one-and-done deal. You hire them for a project, and once they finish, they vanish like ninjas. Though technically you can try to re-hire them, that still requires time and effort. Sometimes they don’t respond, and other times they simply aren’t interested in working with you again. So if your business is constantly getting more work, you’re forced to constantly hire new freelancers for every project. Sometimes that’s simply unrealistic and sooner or later it becomes hard to keep track of your financials.

Conclusion

Hiring a freelancer is a double-edged sword, and it’s up to you to decide whether hiring freelancers is right for your business. Sometimes it can be a perfect investment. It can save you money and save yourself a whole lot of hassle. On the other hand, it can end up biting you in the butt. You might hire an incompetent freelancer or one that quits half way through. Always consider the pros and cons of hiring a freelancer given your unique scenario, and let’s all hope you make the right decision in the end.

Frank Abrams is a HR professional, career coach, and professional resume writer. He currently runs a company that offers professional cv and resume writing services for job seekers looking to further their careers. He's also the co-founder of Mock Interview, a company that provides interview training and coaching. Previously he's worked as a hiring manager and executive recruiter for Borders and Wells Fargo.

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